Riverside County
Turf-rebate programs pay you to take the grass out — but they leave you with the harder question. Riverside Public Utilities pays $7 a square foot for the first 1,000 sq ft of turf you take out, then $2 a square foot up to 5,000 sq ft, processed through Metropolitan’s SoCal WaterSmart platform. Approval has to come before you remove anything, and funds are limited.
See what belongs at your address. Free preview, no account.
This is a plant worksheet, not an application. The residential program also requires a stormwater feature designed to capture rainfall — a rain garden, swale, dry riverbed or cistern — and you must apply for and receive approval to proceed before you remove any turf. Neither is something a plant list can satisfy or prove. Read your agency’s current requirements in full before you start.
Amounts above verified 3 November 2026. Rebate terms and funding change during the season — confirm current requirements with Riverside Public Utilities and Metropolitan Water District before you start.
This is a real report for a public address in Riverside — the Inland Hills ecoregion, with its actual soil, elevation and rainfall. Your own lot will differ: two homes a mile apart can sit on completely different ground.
This address
Inland Hills
EPA Level IV ecoregion · 85l
One or two from each plant type, each with its wildlife value from 1 to 100. Every one is native to Riverside County and sold by California native‑plant nurseries.
KeystoneQuercus agrifolia
Coast Live Oak feeds the caterpillars of 303 native moths and butterflies, and those caterpillars in turn feed nesting birds.
Coast Live Oak feeds the caterpillars of 303 native moths and butterflies, and those caterpillars in turn feed nesting birds.
KeystoneAcmispon glaber
Deerweed is a caterpillar food plant of the Palos Verdes blue, an at-risk butterfly.
Deerweed is a caterpillar food plant of the Palos Verdes blue, an at-risk butterfly.
KeystoneRosa californica
California Wild Rose feeds the caterpillars of 107 species of native moths and butterflies, which eat its leaves.
California Wild Rose feeds the caterpillars of 107 species of native moths and butterflies, which eat its leaves.
Achillea millefolium
Yarrow is an evergreen perennial whose seeds feed birds and stay on the plant into winter.
Yarrow is an evergreen perennial whose seeds feed birds and stay on the plant into winter.
KeystoneSolidago velutina
Three-nerve Goldenrod feeds the caterpillars of 56 native moths and butterflies, and those caterpillars feed nesting birds.
Three-nerve Goldenrod feeds the caterpillars of 56 native moths and butterflies, and those caterpillars feed nesting birds.
Elymus condensatus
Giant Wild Rye is an evergreen grass whose seeds birds eat.
Giant Wild Rye is an evergreen grass whose seeds birds eat.
Enter your address for a free preview: your land, your soil and climate, and a first look at what belongs there. No account needed. The full report, $40, is the whole list for your address, a list you build yourself that scores your picks for wildlife, and a printable nursery list with room to write quantities.
Planting season starts with the first rains. Now is when to plan.
Also see: native plants for Riverside →